Read 223.) Jeremiah chapters 24 and 29, and then, chapters 27 and 28. As with so many chapters, we have certain time clues as to when they were spoken and written by Jeremiah. With today’s reading, we learn from the beginning of chapter 24 that it is likely 598 BC, just after the time of Jehoiakim’s exile to Babylon. Two things of interest from the chapter is 1.)how that even though the Lord has yet to thoroughly rid the Promised Land of all the people of Judah, He is already assuring them of the fulfillment of the 6th prophecy, first given unto Moses 800 years before, that He would bring them back from exile, and resettle them back in the land once again. Further, 2.)He even goes on to say what kind of a people these would be, that they would be a faithful people who would trust in Him and obey from the heart.
Chapter 29 also tells us of when it was given unto the prophet, and logically follows after chapter 24. It reinforces things already spoken. 1.)Babylon will last for 70 years, and 2.)God will bring the captives back to their Promised Land in fulfillment of the 6th prophecy. Verse 11 is not a promise to believers in general, as it is so often used today, but was for those exiles who had been carried away to Babylon. Verses 12 thru the first part of verse 14 are truly beautiful, and they are indeed applicable to any who would embrace them for themselves. If you will seek the Lord with all your heart, you will find Him!
Chapters 27 and 28 follow on the heels of 24 and 29. The message is clear, those things previously prophesied concerning the nations around Judah, cited recently from chapters 48 and 49, are about to fall on those people at the Hand of the Lord, by means of Babylon. Chapter 28 would seem to be next in the order by time clues. Jeremiah has a confrontation with a false prophet by the name of Hananiah. This prophet spoke of God restoring Judah within the next 2 years, when the Lord had already said through Jeremiah that it was going to be 70. For speaking lies in the Name of the Lord, Hananiah dies 2 months later. It is a serious matter to trifle with the things of the Lord. This, too, is what the Book is all about!
ForeverKingdom,
Harold F Crowell
ForeverKingdom's Blog 